Basketball

CLEVELAND (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton hardly resembled the player whose peers have deemed him overrated.

BOSTON (AP) — To say the Celtics have dominated the Knicks over the past two seasons would be an understatement. New York lost all four of its meetings with Boston this season by an average of 16.5 points per game.

HOUSTON (AP) — Golden State guard Gary Payton II won't play in Game 7 of the first-round playoff series Sunday night against the Houston Rockets because of an illness. Warriors coach Steve Kerr provided details on how he was doing before the game.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the young Oklahoma City Thunder must go through a Denver Nuggets team that already has done it all if they want to cap off their fantastic regular season with an NBA championship.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers guard Darius Garland missed his third straight game as Cleveland hosted Indiana in the opener of their Eastern Conference semifinal series Sunday night. The 6-foot-1, sixth-year pro is dealing with a sprained left big toe.

BOSTON (AP) — Celtics guard Jrue Holiday is expected to return from a strained right hamstring when Boston opens its Eastern Conference finals series against the Knicks on Monday night.

Preview capsule on the Boston-New York Eastern Conference semifinal series that starts Monday: No. 2 Boston Celtics (61-21, 4-1) vs. No. 3 New York Knicks (51-31, 4-2) Season series: Celtics, 4-0.

Preview capsule on the Oklahoma City-Denver Western Conference semifinal series that starts Monday: No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder (68-14, 4-0) vs. No. 4 Denver Nuggets (50-32, 4-3) Season series: Tied, 2-2.

Denver Nuggets (50-32, fourth in the Western Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (68-14, first in the Western Conference) Oklahoma City; Monday, 9:30 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Thunder -9.

New York Knicks (51-31, third in the Eastern Conference) vs. Boston Celtics (61-21, second in the Eastern Conference) Boston; Monday, 7 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Celtics -8.